The Pope in Poland

In his first major foreign visit, Pope Benedict XVI is visiting Poland, the homeland of his predecessor, John Paul II. Commentator Jan Turnau writes enthusiastically about the first day of the visit, saying the most positive impression left by the leader of the Catholic Church was that of "his gentle smile, especially when talking Polish. It was like a mixture of embarrassment and self-irony, but also inner warmth... And generally the so-called "battle tank cardinal" is capturing people's hearts with his gentleness and his cultivated mind: this is a university professor in the best sense of the term. There's not a trace of the provincial vicar in him – or of the professor in the negative sense of the word. At the airport he said that he not only wants to strengthen us in our faith, but also to gain strength from our faith."

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